Just as Chief Yue Guohuai had predicted, in less than five moves, Yue Mingyuan sent Fu Dashan crashing to the ground with a perfect over-the-shoulder throw.
Fu Dashan tried to get back up, but Yue Mingyuan gave him no chance. One punch landed, and Fu Dashan’s world went from bright daylight to pitch black, filled with twinkling stars.
It took Fu Dashan quite a while to shake off the daze, but by then, the result was already set in stone.
“Shanzi, you alright?”
The veterans sounded concerned, but they were clearly enjoying his misery.
The squad leader patted Fu Dashan on the shoulder. “Shanzi, you did pretty well. You actually lasted a few exchanges with Captain Yue.”
But Fu Dashan was far from convinced. “He cheated! That wasn’t fair!”
“I want a rematch! Otherwise, I’m not accepting this loss.”
The squad leader was about to tell Fu Dashan that this wasn’t like the brawls back in his village, when Yue Mingyuan’s cold voice cut in from the side: “Fine.”
As he spoke, he unbuttoned his jacket. Everyone watched as he revealed the weight vest strapped across his chest.
He took off all the weight gear and tossed it aside. The squad leader stepped forward, hefted it, and his face filled with shock. “Holy crap, this has got to be fifty kilograms.”
“Shanzi is done for.”
Without the extra weight, Yue Mingyuan moved so fast that no one could even track his movements. And his striking power was more than three times stronger than before.
Fu Dashan didn’t stand a chance. He was completely dominated, purely on the receiving end.
Two punches. This time, Fu Dashan didn’t even see stars. He was out cold.
Yue Mingyuan flexed his wrists, stood up, and calmly strapped all the weights back on.
The arena fell into dead silence for a long moment, until someone finally whispered, barely audible: “Th-this… is this the true strength of the special forces unit? Incredible!”
He had once again claimed the championship and once again stunned everyone present. But Yue Mingyuan’s mind was completely calm, as if it were just another routine training session.
When it came time for the awards ceremony, Yue Mingyuan straightened his uniform and cap, walked onto the platform, and went straight up to Chief Yue Guohuai.
“Daddy.”
Yaya mouthed the word silently. After Chief Yue presented the trophy to Yue Mingyuan, he reached out and gently squeezed Yaya’s little hand. Her eyes curved into happy crescents.
With the competition over, Chief Yue called Yue Mingyuan aside. Yue Mingyuan couldn’t wait any longer and scooped Yaya into his arms.
He nuzzled his face against her soft cheek, then gave her several enthusiastic kisses. “Yaya, did you miss Daddy?”
“Yes!” Yaya answered without hesitation.
“Daddy missed Yaya too.” He held her a little tighter.
“Hehe.” Yaya planted a big kiss on Yue Mingyuan’s cheek. “Daddy’s the best!”
“Thank you, Yaya.” To him, his daughter’s encouragement meant more than any trophy he could ever win.
“Godfather!”
Seeing Ling Hang running over, Yaya waved her little hand vigorously at him.
Yue Mingyuan had gotten away quickly, but Ling Hang had been stopped by military journalists. After dealing with them for a while, he finally managed to break free.
Ling Hang took Yaya’s little hand and gave it a gentle shake. “Yaya’s here! Are you cold?”
Yaya shook her head. “Not cold.”
“Can Godfather hold you?” Ling Hang reached out his arms toward her.
The last few times he had seen Yaya, she had still been so tiny. He had held her once and then didn’t dare to again – she was so soft, more delicate than tofu, and he was terrified that even the slightest movement might shake her apart.
“Okay.”
Yaya reached out her little hands toward Ling Hang. He lifted her carefully from Yue Mingyuan’s arms. Noticing that her pant leg had ridden up a little, Yue Mingyuan quickly reached over and pulled it back down.
“Godfather, mwah.”
Yaya gave Ling Hang a kiss on the cheek. Just as he was floating on cloud nine, he heard the little girl turn to Yue Mingyuan and say, “Daddy, you hold me. Godfather, not comfortable.”
Barely holding back his laughter, Yue Mingyuan took Yaya back into his arms. She wrapped her little arms around his neck and rested her small chin gently on his shoulder.
In that moment, Yue Mingyuan’s heart completely melted.
But Yue Mingyuan still had other duties. After the competition, he and Ling Hang had to lead their team back. He could only spend another half hour with Yaya.
He hated parting with her. He really wished he could just carry Yaya back with him.
The leadership had already discussed building family housing quarters. When the time came, he would apply for a small unit – at least then Ye Zhiqiu could bring Yaya over for a few days whenever she had time, and their little family could be together for a while.
“Daddy, are you leaving now?” Yaya noticed Ling Hang raise his wrist and tap his finger on it a few times – probably reminding Yue Mingyuan of the time.
Yue Mingyuan didn’t hide it from her. “Yeah, Daddy has to return to the unit.”
“Yaya knows Daddy has to protect the country. Yaya will miss Daddy.” Yaya pouted slightly as she cupped Yue Mingyuan’s face in her little hands and gave him a kiss on the cheek. “Daddy has to remember to miss Yaya too.”
“Oh, and also miss Mommy.”
Yaya turned and reached out toward Chief Yue Guohuai. He took her into his arms, and she waved at Yue Mingyuan. “Goodbye, Daddy.”
Then she waved at Ling Hang too. “Goodbye, Godfather.”
“Yaya, when Daddy gets leave, I’ll come straight home, okay?” Yue Mingyuan gently stroked Yaya’s little face, his heart aching.
It had been hard parting with Yaya when she was tiny, and it was just as hard now.
Yaya swung her joined hands with Huo Jiusi and tilted her head, smiling at Yue Mingyuan. “Daddy, Yaya will come see you – with Auntie and Jiusi.”
Huo Jiusi nodded, following Yaya’s lead. “That’s right, Uncle Yue. We can come visit you too.”
“Alright.”
Yue Mingyuan snapped to attention and saluted Chief Yue Guohuai. “Dad, I’m heading back.”
“Uncle Yue, goodbye.” Ling Hang also saluted Chief Yue.
“Go on.” Chief Yue waved them off, watching their retreating figures until they disappeared.
Only when they were out of sight did Yaya finally let out a small, muffled sob. “Daddy…”
Chief Yue patted Yaya’s back gently. “Don’t cry, sweetheart. How about Grandpa takes you to his office? Grandpa has a big tank in his office.”
“Okay.” Yaya replied softly.
Chief Yue carried Yaya into the office building. Everyone he passed who greeted him got a few words about the little girl: “This is my eldest granddaughter. What do you think? Isn’t she just beautiful?”
Even though Yaya had a thick skin, she was completely overwhelmed with shyness.
Just as Grandma had said – Grandpa really did seize every opportunity to show her off. But she knew it was because he loved her.
Chief Yue had a mountain of work to do. Fortunately, Huo Jiusi had prepared plenty of snacks and toys for Yaya in advance. After the two of them woke from their afternoon nap and saw that the weather outside was nice, Huo Jiusi greeted Chief Yue and took Yaya out to play in the snow.
Huo Jiusi rolled a perfectly round snowball and handed it to Yaya.
“Wow, so pretty!” Yaya gave him a thumbs up.
“Yaya, are your hands cold?” Huo Jiusi asked with concern.
Yaya shook her head. “Not cold.”
“Roll a few more for me – I want to play with them.”
“Oh, and make a big one too!”
Huo Jiusi smiled at her, full of affection. “Alright.”
Once he got the technique down, Huo Jiusi could roll out a snowball pretty quickly.
But no matter how fast he went, he couldn’t keep up with Yaya. She kept throwing them, one after another, and each one flew farther than the last.
